Archives
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Recent Posts
- CA2: No 4A requirement for SWs being issued with notice to target
- CA6: Denying ptf access to his own bathroom during a search of his house stated 4A claim
- W.D.Mo.: Not exactly following the inventory policy doesn’t make it unreasonable under 4A
- GA: No IAC for not challenging complete cell phone download before search
- DNYUZ: CBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and Colleagues
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ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2015-17) (then discontinued)
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by John Wesley Hall
Criminal Defense Lawyer and
Search and seizure law consultant
Little Rock, Arkansas
Contact: forhall @ aol.com
Search and Seizure (6th ed. 2025)
www.johnwesleyhall.com -
© 2003-26,
online since Feb. 24, 2003 Approx. 600,000 visits (non-robot) since 2012 Approx. 50,000 posts since 2003 (29,000 on WordPress as of 12/31/25) -
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Fourth Amendment cases, citations, and links -
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
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General (many free):
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FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (pdf)
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Stringrays (ACLU No. Cal.) (pdf)
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Congressional Research Service:
--Electronic Communications Privacy Act (2012)
--Overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (2012)
--Outline of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping (2012)
--Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping (2012)
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"If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. It isn't, and they don't."
—Me -
"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well."
–Josh Billings (pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw), Josh Billings on Ice, and Other Things (1868) (erroneously attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson, among others) -
“I am still learning.”
—Domenico Giuntalodi (but misattributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti (common phrase throughout 1500's)). -
"Love work; hate mastery over others; and avoid intimacy with the government."
—Shemaya, in the Thalmud -
"It is a pleasant world we live in, sir, a very pleasant world. There are bad people in it, Mr. Richard, but if there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers."
—Charles Dickens, “The Old Curiosity Shop ... With a Frontispiece. From a Painting by Geo. Cattermole, Etc.” 255 (1848) -
"A system of law that not only makes certain conduct criminal, but also lays down rules for the conduct of the authorities, often becomes complex in its application to individual cases, and will from time to time produce imperfect results, especially if one's attention is confined to the particular case at bar. Some criminals do go free because of the necessity of keeping government and its servants in their place. That is one of the costs of having and enforcing a Bill of Rights. This country is built on the assumption that the cost is worth paying, and that in the long run we are all both freer and safer if the Constitution is strictly enforced."
—Williams v. Nix, 700 F. 2d 1164, 1173 (8th Cir. 1983) (Richard Sheppard Arnold, J.), rev'd Nix v. Williams, 467 US. 431 (1984). -
"The criminal goes free, if he must, but it is the law that sets him free. Nothing can destroy a government more quickly than its failure to observe its own laws, or worse, its disregard of the charter of its own existence."
—Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 659 (1961). -
"Any costs the exclusionary rule are costs imposed directly by the Fourth Amendment."
—Yale Kamisar, 86 Mich.L.Rev. 1, 36 n. 151 (1987). -
"There have been powerful hydraulic pressures throughout our history that bear heavily on the Court to water down constitutional guarantees and give the police the upper hand. That hydraulic pressure has probably never been greater than it is today."
— Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 39 (1968) (Douglas, J., dissenting). -
"The great end, for which men entered into society, was to secure their property."
—Entick v. Carrington, 19 How.St.Tr. 1029, 1066, 95 Eng. Rep. 807 (C.P. 1765) -
"It is a fair summary of history to say that the safeguards of liberty have frequently been forged in controversies involving not very nice people. And so, while we are concerned here with a shabby defrauder, we must deal with his case in the context of what are really the great themes expressed by the Fourth Amendment."
—United States v. Rabinowitz, 339 U.S. 56, 69 (1950) (Frankfurter, J., dissenting) -
"The course of true law pertaining to searches and seizures, as enunciated here, has not–to put it mildly–run smooth."
—Chapman v. United States, 365 U.S. 610, 618 (1961) (Frankfurter, J., concurring). -
"A search is a search, even if it happens to disclose nothing but the bottom of a turntable."
—Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321, 325 (1987) -
"For the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places. What a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. ... But what he seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected."
—Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 351 (1967) -
“Experience should teach us to be most on guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded
rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”
—United States v. Olmstead, 277 U.S. 438, 479 (1925) (Brandeis, J., dissenting)
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“Liberty—the freedom from unwarranted intrusion by government—is as easily lost through insistent nibbles by government officials who seek to do their jobs too well as by those whose purpose it is to oppress; the piranha can be as deadly as the shark.”
—United States v. $124,570, 873 F.2d 1240, 1246 (9th Cir. 1989) -
"You can't always get what you want / But if you try sometimes / You just might find / You get what you need."
—Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, Let it Bleed (album, 1969) -
"In Germany, they first came for the communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for
the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Catholic. Then they came
for me–and by that time there was nobody left to speak up."
—Martin Niemöller (1945) [he served seven years in a concentration camp] -
“Children grow up thinking the adult world is ordered, rational, fit for purpose. It’s crap. Becoming a man is realising that it’s all rotten. Realising how to celebrate that rottenness, that’s freedom.”
– John le Carré, The Night Manager (1993), line by Richard Roper -
"The point of the Fourth Amendment, which often is not grasped by zealous officers, is not that it denies law enforcement the support of the usual inferences which reasonable men draw from evidence. Its protection consists in requiring that those inferences be drawn by a neutral and detached magistrate instead of being judged by the officer engaged in the often competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime."
—Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 13-14 (1948) -
The book was dedicated in the first (1982) and sixth (2025) editions to Justin William Hall (1975-2025). He was three when this project started in 1978.
Website design by Wally Waller, Colorado Springs. 
Category Archives: Probation / Parole search
DE: While there was a plausible motion to suppress waived by the guilty plea, the plea offer was advantageous and undermines the prejudice
There was a good premise for a motion to suppress the probation search here from a 14 year old consenting to entry, but defendant’s benefit from the plea agreement shows that there was no prejudice. State v. Wallace, 2017 Del. … Continue reading
NY4: Drug testing condition of probation unenforceable without showing def needs it
Defendant’s drug testing condition of probation is unenforceable because there were no findings of drug or alcohol abuse in his past to justify it. People v. Saraceni, 2017 NY Slip Op 06732, 2017 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6746 (4th Dept. … Continue reading
Cal.4: Electronic search condition for probation for attempted robbery was reasonable
An electronic search condition for probation for attempted robbery was reasonable. Defendant didn’t object to a home search condition which is just as onerous. People v. Trujillo, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 813 (4th Dist. Sept. 21, 2017):
CA9: Suspicionless mandatory supervision search, without more, is reasonable (on rehearing)
United States v. Cervantes, 859 F.3d 1175 (9th Cir. June 19, 2017) (posted here) had a new opinion issued on rehearing, United States v. Cervantes, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 18017 (9th Cir. Sept. 11, 2017), coming to the same result … Continue reading
Cal.4: Probation search of “property, personal effects” reasonably includes a cell phone and its data
A probation search of “property, personal effects” reasonably includes a cell phone and its data. There are no limits on what “personal effects” means in the search condition paperwork. And, this was misdemeanor probation, and the search of the phone … Continue reading
AK: Trooper’s call to PO about what he’d seen justified PO having trooper do probation search
The Alaska State Trooper called defendant’s probation officer and “told the probation officer that Bradford had needle marks on his arm, that Bradford had confessed to recent use of heroin, and that he was driving without a license. Therefore, the … Continue reading
CA9: Officers have to know of probation search waiver before the search to rely on it
The search of defendant’s car under a probation search condition was unreasonable but harmless error. The officers didn’t know of the waiver before the search. United States v. Job, 851 F.3d 889 (9th Cir. March 14, 2017), amended on rehearing … Continue reading
NC: Seizure of shotgun during protective sweep for misdemeanor probation arrest was unreasonable
Defendant was arrested without incident in his living room for a violation of misdemeanor probation, and there was a protective sweep of other rooms looking for others, and a shotgun was seen. The protective sweep was valid, but the seizure … Continue reading
TN: Conclusory statement from CI defs had drugs and unsuccessful controlled buy was neither PC for warrant nor RS for probation search
The trial court properly granted defendants’ motion to suppress evidence seized as a result of a warrantless search of their house. The information possessed by the officers at the time of the search, including a conclusory statement from a confidential … Continue reading
M.D.Fla.: Def’s public opposition to PO walk throughs of his residence added to RS
Defendant’s opposition to home walk throughs by his probation officer added to reasonable suspicion. When he spent $20,000 on Christmas gifts with a $1,500 a month income, they had cause to do one. United States v. Rogers, 2017 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
S.D.Cal.: Scope of a parole search is based on RS parolee is in control of specific place searched
The scope of a parole search has to be based on at least reasonable suspicion that the place to be searched was under the control of the parolee. There was no evidence available that showed he had joint control of … Continue reading
CA10: CSLI is third-party information
Noting pendency of Carpenter, the Tenth Circuit finds CSLI third-party records and they are bound to apply the third-party doctrine. United States v. Thompson, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 14551 (10th Cir. Aug. 8, 2017). Defendant had a warrantless search condition … Continue reading
CA8: Halfway house resident’s cell phone subject to suspicionless search
Defendant’s cell phone was subject to search when he resided at a residential reentry program after release from an FCI. Child porn was found on the phone. Defendant’s reliance on Riley’s warrant requirement is misplaced. Yes, this is a cell … Continue reading
M.D.Fla.: Probation condition doesn’t permit warrantless tracking of defendant’s cell phone as a matter of course. If he’s a fugitive, yes, by court order
Probation condition doesn’t permit warrantless tracking of defendant’s cell phone as a matter of course. When he’s a fugitive, however, it can be. United States v. Ponce, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119550 (M.D. Fla. July 31, 2017):
CA9: A valid parole search includes detaining the property long enough to search it
Defendant was on a parole search condition, and that included searching any property under his control and even detaining that property long enough to do it. United States v. Miller, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 14283 (9th Cir. Aug. 3, 2017). … Continue reading
CA9: Officer’s call to def’s PO during stop didn’t unreasonably prolong it, and PO requested search
The officer’s call to defendant’s PO during his traffic stop did not unreasonably prolong the stop. The PO separately had reasonable suspicion for a search and requested one. United States v. Seugasala, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 14173 (9th Cir. Aug. … Continue reading
WA: Random UAs valid as condition of probation for DUI
“At issue in this case is whether a court may require a probationer convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) to submit to random urinalysis testing (UAs) for controlled substances. In particular, this issue centers on whether this testing violates … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: Where probation search didn’t comply with state RS requirement, federal court suppresses it
The state probation search of defendant’s premises did not comply with the state statute requiring reasonable suspicion, so the court does not consider the constitutionality of the search. The search was not for supervision purposes because his supervising officer did … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: Parole searches aren’t at all limited to only def’s parole officer doing it
It is not even a reasonable argument that only defendant’s PO can search him under a warrantless search condition. United States v. Smith, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105049 (E.D. N.C. July 7, 2017). Defendant was seized when the officer’s blue … Continue reading
S.D.Cal.: Probation search waiver can’t be relied on when officers didn’t know about it at time of search
In a civil case relying on a probation search, “‘[a] Fourth Amendment search waiver cannot provide a justification for a search of a probationer where the officers were unaware of the waiver before they undertook the search.’ United States v. … Continue reading